Jesus would surely have known the Church would abandon the Sabbath three hundred years after his death

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"Time of Jacob's Trouble" @   https://natzrim.blogspot.com/2010/12/time-of-jacobs-trouble.html

Puzzling, Jesus would surely have known the Church would abandon the Sabbath three hundred years after his death?

Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 

See The Constantine Creed

365 AD, the Council of Laodicea wrote, in one of their canons:

Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day. Rather, honoring the Lord’s Day. But if any shall be found to be Judaizers, let them be anathema (against) from Christ”.

Concerning Antiochus Epiphanes…
He set up an image of Zeus in the Temple which was the Abomination of Desolation spoken of in Daniel 11. For 3 years, he continued to desecrate the Temple.

By 167 the enforced Hellenization of the Jews reached its peak; the Jews were compelled, under penalty of death "to depart from the laws of their fathers, and to cease living by the laws of God.


These were the new laws that Antiochus set up:

Thou shall profane the Sabbath
Thou shall change the set times (festivals) and laws
Thou shall set up idols
Thou shall eat unclean animals
Thou shall not circumcise
Thou shall forget Torah

3 years and 2 months later, the Temple was taken back and rededicated. This is known as the Feast of Dedication, or Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah. [1]

Daniel’s Prophecy of Antiochus Epiphanes

ANTIOCHUS IV EPIPHANES, son of Antiochus III, ruled from the death of his brother *Seleucus IV in 175 B.C.E. until his death in 164. His reign marks a turning point in Jewish history. Striving vigorously to restore the strength of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus founded more new Greek cities than all his predecessors. He became the champion of an intense Hellenization, more as a result of personal tendencies than as a means of reunifying the divided kingdom. To this end Antiochus paid particular attention to the Jews of Palestine. *Onias III, the high priest, was replaced in 173 by *Jason who had strong leanings toward the Hellenistic party in Jerusalem. In time the character of the Jewish capital itself was altered, with Jason undertaking "to register the Jerusalemites as citizens of Antioch" (II Macc. 4:9; on the legal status of Jerusalem under the government of the Hellenizers see V. Tcherikover, Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews (1959), 161 ff.). Jason was eventually outbid for the office of high priest by Menelaus, who proved even more servile and prepared to carry out the most extreme Hellenization of Judea. In 168 Antiochus set out on his second expedition to Egypt. Wishful thinking probably promoted the spread of false rumors regarding the king's death, and as a result, Jason, who had fled to Transjordan, returned to Jerusalem and tried to reestablish his rule. On returning from Egypt, Antiochus, convinced that a rebellion had broken out against him, stormed the city, killed thousands of Jews, and sold thousands more into slavery. In their place, and especially in the citadel of Jerusalem (*Acra) which was erected on the instructions of Antiochus, a Greek community was set up, thus outwardly transforming the city into a foreign polis (city-state). 

By 167 the enforced Hellenization of the Jews reached its peak; the Jews were compelled, under penalty of death "to depart from the laws of their fathers, and to cease living by the laws of God. Further, the sanctuary in Jerusalem was to be polluted and called after Zeus Olympius" (II Macc. 6:1, 2). The nature of these decrees has puzzled most scholars and students of the Hellenistic period. Ancient polytheism for the most part was tolerant, and this particular brand of Hellenization was not applied by Antiochus to any segment of the non-Jewish population under his rule. It would seem, therefore, that religious oppression appeared to Antiochus to be the only means of achieving political stability in Palestine, since it was that country's religion, if anything, that was out of place in a predominantly Hellenized empire. It would be wrong, however, completely to disregard the nature of the king himself. His strange behavior, causing contemporaries to refer to him as Epimanes ("madman") instead of Epiphanes, obviously played a major part in the formation of such violent policies. In any case, Antiochus did not personally oversee the implementation of these policies. He died in the city of Tabae (Isfahan). He was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Antiochus V Eupator (Polybius 26:10; 31:3–4; Livius 41:19, 20; Diodorus 29:32; 31:16; for a summation of modern literature on Antiochus IV see Tcherikover, op. cit., 175–203). [2]

Daniel’s Prophecy of Antiochus Epiphanes

BY JASON JACKSON

“The Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will” (Dan. 5:21, ESV). Belshazzar knew this, but he disregarded the hard-learned lesson of Nebuchadnezzar (v. 22). He was, therefore, weighed in the balances. Likewise, all who live with a disregard for the Most High God are found wanting (v. 27).

Babylonian Captivity furnished the context for this great message. Daniel, the prophet — in that way Jesus Christ referred to him (Matt. 24:15) — recorded selective events to demonstrate the truth that God is in control.

In the first six chapters of the book, Daniel and friends appeared healthier than the other chosen youths, though they subsisted on a meager diet, refusing to compromise their convictions (Dan. 1). By divine direction, Daniel told and interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which was a testimony of what God would do in history (Dan. 2).

The Lord intervened to save the three Hebrew youths, although the most powerful man in the world had ordered their execution (Dan. 3). The proud tyrant did Jehovah make “to lie down in green pastures.” After which, Nebuchadnezzer confessed, “… those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Dan. 4:37).

The demise of Babylon and Belshazzar were the Lord’s doing (Dan. 5). And Daniel’s harmless night in the lions’ den convinced Darius that the God of Daniel, “… he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end” (Dan. 6:26).

From the beginning to the end of captivity in Babylon, these special events showed that God rules the kingdom of mankind.

In the latter half of the book, Daniel reports a series of visions. Daniel, through divine inspiration, sees and records events yet-to-be. The mere fact that God reveals the future proves his power and sovereignty (cf. Is. 44:24—45:13). These predicted events were exactly fulfilled, demonstrating yet again — the Most High God rules, even as evil men work out unwittingly God’s providential desires.

Skeptics have alleged that such events were certainly recorded after the fact — the work of a historian and not a prophet. Peter C. Craigie notes the importance of the interpretation of Daniel, as he says, “in the minds of some”:

“The dreams of Daniel, if taken as sixth century productions, clearly and accurately predict the course of Near Eastern history down to the middle of the second century B.C. (at least), and are a testimony to the accuracy of God’s special revelation to Daniel. On the other hand, it is precisely the concurrence between the substance of the visions and the actual history of the Near East which compels other interpreters to claim that the visions must have been written after the events they describe” (The Old Testament: Its Background, Growth and Content, Nashville: Abingdon, 1986, p. 246).

The thought of predictive prophecy is more than the humanistic mind can bear, so many have become dedicated to convincing themselves — and others — that the book of Daniel must be the work of a second century unknown mystery writer. Robert D. Wilson, in his mammoth work, Studies in the book of Daniel, concludes:

“Now, in the works already published and elsewhere in this volume, we have endeavoured to show, that the objections against Daniel based upon the alleged inaccuracy of its statements about the age of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus are unfounded, that the argument from silence as illustrated in Ecclesiasticus and other cases is fallacious, that the argument from Daniel’s place in the present Hebrew Bible has no basis to rest on, and that the origin and influence of its ideas and its background including its language are in harmony with its claims to have been written in the sixth century B.C. in a Babylonian environment” (Vol. 2, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972, p. 271).

If the book of Daniel is the product of Daniel the prophet, then the point is proven and undeniable: God rules. This theological conclusion will forever be unacceptable to some, in that same way that some saw Lazarus raised from the dead and still refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ. In spite of indisputable evidence, the prophet will remain under attack, which assault inadvertently reminds us of the apologetic potency of the book of Daniel.

In the sixth century B.C., Daniel wrote,

“Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece” (Dan. 11:2).

The prediction of Greece as a succeeding world power to the Persian empire is itself amazing; the fall of Persia and the rise of Alexander’s Empire were two hundred years in the future at the time of Daniel’s vision.

Yet, Daniel’s predictions become even more detailed. Concerning the rise of Alexander the Great, he says,

“Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills” (Dan. 11:3).

The premature death of Alexander is rehearsed in many sixth grade text books, and the division of his kingdom into four parts, assumed by four military leaders, is also well-known. Daniel foresaw these events:

“And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these” (Dan. 11:4).

Two of these divisions of Alexander’s empire are prominent in the subsequent part of Daniel’s vision — the kings of the North and South (Dan. 11:5-20). We know them as the Seleucid and Ptolemy dynasties. The facts of the campaigns and conflicts between these powers are easily reviewed with a good encyclopedia, and the careful reader will observe the “concurrence between the substance of the visions and the actual history of the Near East” (Craigie, p. 246).

In Daniel 11:21-35, the prophet reveals the rise and rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid king who reigned from 175-164 B.C. Daniel’s prediction involves the rise of Antiochus to power, the conflicts of Antiochus with Egypt (i.e., the king of the South), and his hostilities towards Israel.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica 2003 Deluxe Edition states:

“Antiochus was the third son of Antiochus III the Great. After his father’s defeat by the Romans in 190—189, he served as hostage for his father in Rome from 189 to 175, where he learned to admire Roman institutions and policies. His brother, King Seleucus IV, exchanged him for Demetrius, the son of Seleucus; and after Seleucus was murdered by Heliodorus, a usurper, Antiochus in turn ousted him” (“Antiochus IV Epiphanes,” Britannica Corp, 2003.).

The demise of Seleucus IV preceded Antiochus’ rise to power, and Daniel prophesies the untimely end of Seleucus (Dan. 11:20-21).

“Then shall arise in his [Antiochus III] place one [Seleucus IV] who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But, within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle” (v. 20).

Seleucus IV, brother of Antiochus, succeeded his father Antiocus III the Great. Apparently, Seleucus sent Heliodorus to plunder the temple in Jerusalem, but he returned empty-handed. Gleason Archer observes,

“No other details are given in this verse of the twelve-year reign of this rather ineffectual king, except that he did not die in battle or in a mob action as had his father, Antiochus. Yet Seleucus IV met an untimely end through poison administered by Heliodorus” (Expositor Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985, p. 134).

And Daniel foresaw,

“In his [Seleucus IV] place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries” (Dan. 11:21).

Although Demetrius, the son of Seleucus IV, was the rightful successor, Antiochus determined to seize control.

Antiochus’ rise to power corresponded to the following predictions by Daniel, the prophet of the Most High God:

1. Antiochus would come to power after the untimely death of his predecessor.
2. He was a contemptible person, thus he was called by many Antiochus Epimanes (i.e., the madman) instead of his preferred appellation Epiphanes (i.e., God Manifest).
3. He was not an heir to the throne, indeed to him “royal majesty has not been given.”
4. Antiochus did not lead a bloody coup, but he obtained “the kingdom by flatteries.” Edward J. Young writes, “By flattery he won over the kings of Pergamus to his cause, and the Syrians gave in peaceably” (The Prophecy of Daniel, Grand Rapids: Eerdmands, 1977, p. 241).

These specific details, prophesied about 350 years before they transpired, were fulfilled in Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The time and manner of his rise to power were foretold in the book of Daniel — the Most High rules the kingdom of men.

The conflicts of Antiochus IV with Egypt are predicted in Daniel 11:22-30, which details are amazing. The relevance to the biblical scheme is that these campaigns bring him into direct contact with Israel, since Palestine is between Syria and Egypt. Note the prophetic specifics concerning the hostilities of Antiochus against Israel:

“At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time” (Dan. 11:29-35).

1. The hostilities of Antiochus IV against Israel would happen during more than one Egyptian conflict (Dan. 11:29-30).
2. Antiochus would take military control of Jerusalem, and especially the temple: “Forces from him shall appear …” (v. 31a).
3. He would cause the sacrifices to cease: “Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering” (v. 31).
4. He would “set up the abomination that makes desolate” (v. 31b).
5. Antiochus would prefer and protect those who “violate the covenant” (v. 32a).
6. Antiochus would meet resistance (vv. 32b-33).
7. The righteous would suffer intense persecution (vv. 33-34a).
8. There would be imposters among the righteous (v. 34b).
9. These events would result in a purification of the people of God (v. 35).

In view of these verses, consider the following excerpt:

“Antiochus’ hellenizing policies brought him into conflict with the prosperous Oriental temple organizations, and particularly with the Jews. Since Antiochus III’s reign the Jews had enjoyed extensive autonomy under their high priest. They were divided into two parties, the orthodox Hasideans (Pious Ones) and a reform party that favoured Hellenism. For financial reasons Antiochus supported the reform party and, in return for a considerable sum, permitted the high priest, Jason, to build a gymnasium in Jerusalem and to introduce the Greek mode of educating young people. In 172, for an even bigger tribute, he appointed Menelaus in place of Jason. In 169, however, while Antiochus was campaigning in Egypt, Jason conquered Jerusalem—with the exception of the citadel—and murdered many adherents of his rival Menelaus. When Antiochus returned from Egypt in 167 he took Jerusalem by storm and enforced its Hellenization. The city forfeited its privileges and was permanently garrisoned by Syrian soldiers.” (“Antiochus IV Epiphanes,” The Encyclopaedia Britannica 2003 Deluxe Edition, Britannica Corp, 2003).

Skeptics allege that these events were recorded after the fact — that is, they were the work of an historian and not a prophet. They reject the possibility of predictive prophecy, therefore any other explanation will do.

Source 
[1]  http://natzrim.blogspot.com/2011/04/constantine-creed.html#VDTGWrqCR7sddUo8.99 
[2] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0002_0_01155.html

[3] https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1191-daniels-prophecy-of-antiochus-epiphanes

The Constantine Creed

The Constantine Creed

The Constantine Creed

“I renounce all customs, rites, legalisms, unleavened breads and sacrifices of lambs of the Hebrews, and all the other feasts of the Hebrews, sacrifices, prayers, aspirations, purifications, sanctifications, and propitiations, and fasts and new moons, and Sabbaths, and superstitions, and hymns and chants, and observances and synagogues. absolutely everything Jewish, every Law, rite and custom and if afterwards I shall wish to deny and return to Jewish superstition, or shall be found eating with Jews, or feasting with them, or secretly conversing and condemning the Christian religion instead of openly confuting them and condemning their vain faith, then let the trembling of Cain and the leprosy of Gehazi cleave to me, as well as the legal punishments to which I acknowledge myself liable. And may I be an anathema in the world to come, and may my soul be set down with Satan and the devils.”
(Stefano Assemani, Acta Sanctorium Martyrum Orientalium at Occidentalium, Vol. 1, Rome 1748, page 105)

Furthermore, any follower who wished to join this “holy community” was compelled to adopt a different set of rules and customs. Subsequently special creeds were drafted, to which the Christian would have to swear such as:

“I accept all customs, rites, legalism, and feasts of the Romans, sacrifices. Prayers, purifications with water, sanctifications by Pontificus Maxmus (high priests of Rome), propitiations, and feasts, and the New Sabbath “So! dei” (day of the Sun, ), all new chants and observances, and all the foods and drinks of the Romans. In other words, I absolutely accept everything Roman, every new law, rite and custom, of Rome, and the New Roman Religion.”

Additionally, in approximately 365 AD, the Council of Laodicea wrote, in one of their canons:
Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day. Rather, honoring the Lord’s Day. But if any shall be found to be Judaizers, let them be anathema (against) from Christ”.

Note: Protestants are included as they still observe the holidays and sabbath of Rome, as in “are you going to church this coming Lord’s day”.

Concerning Antiochus Epiphanes…

He set up an image of Zeus in the Temple which was the Abomination of Desolation spoken of in Daniel 11. For 3 years, he continued to desecrate the Temple.

 

These were the new laws that Antiochus set up:

Thou shall profane the Sabbath

Thou shall change the set times (festivals) and laws

Thou shall set up idols

Thou shall eat unclean animals

Thou shall not circumcise

Thou shall forget Torah

3 years and 2 months later, the Temple was taken back and rededicated. This is known as the Feast of Dedication, or Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah.

What’s really is ironic…..these laws were created by an antichrist Antiochus, and are the same things Constantine would later repeat and this is what people want to live by today. Totally going against God’s Word. People today are living under laws created by Antiochus and Constantine; an antichrist.

 

SOURCE: http://tjcoop3.wordpress.com/the-constantine-creed/

The Council of Laodicea of around 365 decreed 59 laws, #29:

Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ. (Percival Translation).

Martin Luther's anti-Jewishness

Martin Luther's dirty little book:

On the Jews and their lies

A precursor to Nazism

"Unfortunately few popular books on Luther go into detail about Luther's anti-Jewishness, or even mention that he had a hatred for Jews at all. This has resulted in a biased outlook towards Martin Luther and Christianity. This unawareness of Luther's sinister side, while honoring his "righteousness" leads to a ratcheting promotion of Luther which supports a "good" public image while also transporting his Jewish beliefs to those who carry the seeds of anti-Semitism. This will present an unwanted dilemma for many Christians because Luther represents the birth of Protestant Christianity as well as the genesis of the special brand of Jewish hatred that flourished only in Germany."

"Although Luther did not invent anti-Jewishness, he promoted it to a level never before seen in Europe. Luther bore the influence of his upbringing and from anti-Jewish theologians such as Lyra, Burgensis, (and John Chrysostom, before them). But Luther's 1543 book, "On the Jews and their lies" took Jewish hatred to a new level when he proposed to set fire to their synagogues and schools, to take away their homes, forbad them to pray or teach, or even to utter God's name. Luther wanted to "be rid of them" and requested that the government and ministers deal with the problem. He requested pastors and preachers to follow his example of issuing warnings against the Jews. He goes so far as to claim that "We are at fault in not slaying them" for avenging the death of Jesus Christ. Hitler's Nazi government in the 1930s and 40s fit Luther's desires to a tee."

"So vehemently did Luther speak against the Jews, and the fact that Luther represented an honorable and admired Christian to Protestants, that his written words carried the "memetic" seeds of anti-Jewishness up until the 20th century and into the Third Reich. Luther's Jewish eliminationist rhetoric virtually matches the beliefs held by Hitler and much of the German populace in the 1930s."

"Luther unconsciously set the stage for the future of German nationalistic fanaticism. William L. Shirer in his "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," puts it succinctly:"

"Through his sermons and his magnificent translations of the Bible, Luther created the modern German language, aroused in the people not only a new Protestant vision by a fervent German nationalism and taught them, at least in religion, the supremacy of the individual conscience. But tragically for them, Luther's siding with the princes in the peasant rising, which he had largely inspired, and his passion for political autocracy ensured a mindless and provincial political absolutism which reduced the vast majority of the German people to poverty, to a horrible torpor and a demeaning subservience. Even worse perhaps, it helped to perpetuate and indeed to sharpen the hopeless divisions not only between classes but also between the various dynastic and political groupings of the German people. It doomed for centuries the possibility of the unification of Germany."

Jewish Persecution | Timeline of Judaism | History of AntiSemitism

Lesser Known Highlights of Jewish International
Relations In The Common Era (an Abbreviated sampling)

DATE	PLACE	EVENT
250 C.E.	Carthage	Expulsion
224 C.E.	Italy	Forced Conversion
325 C.E.	Jerusalem	Expulsion
351 C.E	Persia	Book Burning
357 C.E.	Italy	Property Confiscation
379 C.E.	Milan	Synagogue Burning
415 C.E.	Alexandria	Expulsion
418 C.E.	Minorca	Forced Conversion
469 C.E.	Ipahan	Holocaust
489 C.E.	Antioch	Synagogue Burning
506 C.E.	Daphne	Synagogue Burning
519 C.E.	Ravenna	Synagogue Burning
554 C.E.	Diocese of Clement (France)	Expulsion
561 C.E.	Diocese of Uzes (France)	Expulsion
582 C.E	Merovingia	Forced Conversion
612 C.E.	Visigoth Spain	Expulsion
628 C.E.	Byzantium	Forced Conversion
629 C.E.	Merovingia	Forced Conversion
633 C.E.	Toledo	Forced Conversion
638 C.E.	Toledo	Stake Burnings
642 C.E.	Visigothic Empire	Expulsion
653 C.E.	Toledo	Expulsion
681 C.E.	Spain	Forced Conversion
693 C.E.	Toledo	Jews Enslaved
722 C.E.	Byzantium	Judaism Outlawed
855 C.E.	Italy	Expulsion
876 C.E.	Sens	Expulsion
897 C.E.	Narbonne	Land Confiscation
945 C.E.	Venice	Ban on Sea Travel
1009 C.E.	Orleans	Massacre
1012 C.E.	Rouen, Limoges & Rome	Massacre
1012 C.E.	Mayence	Expulsion
1021 C.E.	Rome	Jews Burned Alive
1063 C.E.	Spain	Massacre
1095 C.E.	Lorraine	Massacre
1096 C.E.	Northern France & Germany	1/3 of Jewish Population Massacred
1096 C.E.	Hungary	Massacre
1096 C.E.	Ralisbon	Massacre
1099 C.E.	Jerusalem	Jews Burned Alive
1100 C.E.	Kiev	Pogrom
1140 C.E.	Germany	Massacres
1146 C.E.	Rhine Valley	Massacre
1147 C.E.	Wurzburg	Massacre
1147 C.E.	Belitz (Germany)	Jews Burned Alive
1147 C.E.	Carenton, Ramenu & Sully (France)	Massacres
1171 C.E.	Blois	Stake Burnings
1181 C.E.	France	Expulsion
1181 C.E.	England	Property Confiscation
1188 C.E.	London & York	Mob Attacks
1190 C.E.	Norfolk	Jews Burned Alive
1191 C.E.	Bray (France)	Jews Burned Alive
1195 C.E.	France	Property Confiscation
1209 C.E.	Beziers	Massacre
1212 C.E.	Spain	Rioting and blood bath against the Jews of Toledo.
1215 C.E.	Rome	Lateran Council of Rome decrees that Jews must wear the "badge of shame" in all Christian countries. Jews are denied all public sector employment, and are burdened with extra taxes.
1215 C.E.	Toulouse (France)	Mass Arrests
1218 C.E.	England	Jews Forced to Wear Badges
1231 C.E.	Rome	Inquisition Established
1236 C.E.	France	Forced Conversion/Massacre
1239 C.E.	London	Massacre & Property Confiscation
1240 C.E.	Austria	Property confiscation. Jews either imprisoned, converted, expelled, or burned.
1240 C.E.	France	Talmud Confiscated
1240 C.E.	England	Book Burning
1240 C.E.	Spain	Forced Conversion
1242 C.E.	Paris	Talmud Burned
1244 C.E.	Oxford	Mob Attacks
1255 C.E.	England	Blood libel in Lincoln results in the burning / torture of many Jews & public hangings.
1261 C.E.	Canterbury	Mob Attacks
1262 C.E.	London	Mob Attacks
1264 C.E.	London	Mob Attacks
1264 C.E.	Germany	Council of Vienna declares that all Jews must wear a "pointed dunce cap." Thousands murdered.
1267 C.E.	Vienna	Jews Forced to Wear Horned Hats
1270 C.E.	Weissenberg, Magdeburg, Arnstadt, Coblenz, Singzig, and Erfurt	Jews Burned Alive
1270 C.E.	England	The libel of the "counterfeit coins" - all Jewish men, women and children in England imprisoned. Hundreds are hung.
1276 C.E.	Bavaria	Expulsion
1278 C.E.	Genoa (Spain)	Mob Attacks
1279 C.E.	Hungary & Poland	The Council of Offon denies Jews the right to all civic positions. The Jews of Hungary & Poland are forced to wear the "red badge of shame."
1283 C.E.	Mayence & Bacharach	Mob Attacks
1285 C.E.	Munich	Jews Burned Alive
1290 C.E.	England	King Edward I issues an edict banishing all Jews from England. Many drowned.
1291 C.E.	France	The Jewish refugees from England are promptly expelled from France.
1292 C.E.	Italy	Forced conversions & expulsion of the Italian Jewish community.
1298 C.E.	Germany	The libel of the "Desecrated Host" is perpetrated against the Jews of Germany. Approximately 150 Jewish communities undergo forced conversion.
1298 C.E.	Franconia, Bavaria & Austria	Reindfel's Decree is propagated against the Jews of Franconia and Bavarai. Riots against these Jewish communities, as well as those in Austria, result in the massacre of 100,000 Jews over a six-month period.
1306 C.E.	France	Expulsion
1308 C.E.	Strasbourg	Jews Burned Alive
1320 C.E.	Toulouse & Perpigon	120 Communities Massacred & Talmud Burned
1321 C.E.	Teruel	Public Executions
1328 C.E.	Estella	5,000 Jews Slaughtered
1348 C.E.	France & Spain	Jews Burned Alive
1348 C.E.	Switzerland	Expulsion
1349 C.E.	Worms, Strasbourg, Oppenheim, Mayence, Erfurt, Bavaria & Swabia	Jews Burned Alive
1349 C.E.	Heilbronn (Germany)	Expulsion
1349 C.E.	Hungary	Expulsion
1354 C.E.	Castile (Spain)	12,000 Jews Slaughtered
1368 C.E.	Toledo	8,000 Jews Slaughtered
1370 C.E.	Majorca., Penignon & Barcelona	Mob Attack
1377 C.E.	Huesca (Spain)	Jews Burned Alive
1380 C.E.	Paris	Mob Attack
1384 C.E.	Nordlingen	Mass Murder
1388 C.E.	Strasbourg	Expulsion
1389 C.E.	Prague	Mass Slaughter & Book Burning
1391 C.E.	Castille, Toledo, Madrid, Seville, Cordova, Cuenca & Barcelona	Forced Conversions & Mass Murder
1394 C.E.	Germany	Expulsion
1394 C.E.	France	Expulsion
1399 C.E.	Posen (Poland)	Jews Burned Alive
1400 C.E.	Prague	Stake Burnings
1407 C.E.	Cracow	Mob Attack
1415 C.E.	Rome	Talmud Confiscated
1422 C.E.	Austria	Jews Burned Alive
1422 C.E.	Austria	Expulsion
1424 C.E.	Fribourg & Zurich	Expulsion
1426 C.E.	Cologne	Expulsion
1431 C.E.	Southern Germany	Jews Burned Alive
1432 C.E.	Savory	Expulsion
1438 C.E.	Mainz	Expulsion
1439 C.E.	Augsburg	Expulsion
1449 C.E.	Toledo	Public Torture &. Burnings
1456 C.E.	Bavaria	Expulsion
1453 C.E.	Franconia	Expulsion
1453 C.E.	Breslau	Expulsion
1454 C.E.	Wurzburg	Expulsion
1463 C.E.	Cracow	Mob Attack
1473 C.E.	Andalusia	Mob Attack
1480 C.E.	Venice	Jews Burned Alive
1481 C.E.	Seville	Stake Burnings
1484 C.E.	Cuidad Real, Guadalupe, Saragossa & Teruel	Jews Burned Alive
1485 C.E.	Vincenza (Italy)	Expulsion
1486 C.E.	Toledo	Jews Burned Alive
1488 C.E.	Toledo	Stake Burnings
1490 C.E.	Toledo	Public Executions
1491 C.E.	Astorga	Public Torture & Execution
1492 C.E.	Spain	Expulsion
1495 C.E.	Lithuania	Expulsion
1497 C.E.	Portugal	Expulsion
1499 C.E.	Germany	Expulsion
1506 C.E.	Lisbon	Mob Attack
1510 C.E.	Berlin	Public Torture & Execution
1514 C.E.	Strasbourg	Expulsion
1519 C.E.	Regensburg	Expulsion
1539 C.E.	Cracow & Portugal	Stake Burnings
1540 C.E.	Naples	Expulsion
1542 C.E.	Bohemia	Expulsion
1550 C.E.	Genoa	Expulsion
1551 C.E.	Bavaria	Expulsion
1555 C.E.	Pesaro	Expulsion
1556 C.E.	Sokhachev (Poland)	Public Torture & Execution
1559 C.E.	Austria	Expulsion
1561 C.E.	Prague	Expulsion
1567 C.E.	Wurzburg	Expulsion
1569 C.E.	Papal States	Expulsion
1571 C.E.	Brandenburg	Expulsion
1582 C.E.	Netherlands	Expulsion
1593 C.E.	Brunswick	Expulsion
1597 C.E.	Cremona, Pavia & Lodi	Expulsion
1614 C.E.	Frankfort	Expulsion
1615 C.E.	Worms	Expulsion
1619 C.E.	Kiev	Expulsion
1635 C.E.	Vilna	Mob Attack
1637 C.E.	Cracow	Public Torture & Execution
1647 C.E.	Lisbon	Jews Burned Alive
1648 C.E.	Poland	1/3 of Jewry Slaughtered
1649 C.E.	Ukraine	Expulsion
1649 C.E.	Hamburg	Expulsion
1652 C.E.	Lisbon	Stake Burnings
1654 C.E.	Little Russia	Expulsion
1656 C.E.	Lithuania	Expulsion
1660 C.E.	Seville	Jews Burned Alive
1663 C.E	Cracow	Public Torture &. Execution
1664 C.E.	Lemberg	Mob Attack
1669 C.E.	Oran (North Africa)	Expulsion
1670 C.E.	Vienna	Expulsion
1671 C.E.	Minsk	Mob Attacks
1681 C.E.	Vilna	Mob Attacks
1682 C.E.	Cracow	Mob Attacks
1687 C.E.	Posen	Mob Attacks
1712 C.E.	Sandomir	Expulsion
1727 C.E.	Russia	Expulsion
1738 C.E.	Wurtemburg	Expulsion
1740 C.E.	Liule Russia	Expulsion
1744 C.E	Bohemia	Expulsion
1744 C.E.	Livonia	Expulsion
1745 C.E.	Moravia	Expulsion
1753 C.E.	Kovad (Lithuania)	Expulsion
1757 C.E.	Kamenetz	Talmud Burning
1761 C.E.	Bordeaux	Expulsion
1768 C.E.	Kiev	3,000 Jews Slaughtered
1772 C.E.	Russia	Expulsion
1775 C.E.	Warsaw	Expulsion
1789 C.E.	Alsace	Expulsion
1801 C.E.	Bucharest	Mob Attack
1804 C.E.	Russian Villages	Expulsion
1808 C.E.	Russian Countryside	Expulsion
1815 C.E.	Lubeck & Bremen	Expulsion
1820 C.E.	Bremes	Expulsion
1843 C.E.	Austria & Prussia	Expulsion
1850 C.E.	New York City	500 People, Led by Police, Attacked & Wrecked Jewish Synagogue
1862 C.E.	Area under General Grant's Jurisdiction in the United States	Expulsion
1866 C.E	Galatz (Romania)	Expulsion
1871 C.E.	Odena	Mob Attack
1887 C.E.	Slovakia	Mob Attacks
1897 C.E.	Kantakuzenka (Russia)	Mob Attacks
1898 C.E.	Rennes (France)	Mob Attack
1899 C.E.	Nicholayev	Mob Attack
1900 C.E.	Konitz (Prussia)	Mob Attack
1902 C.E.	Poland	Widespread Pogroms
1904 C.E.	Manchuria, Kiev & Volhynia	Widespread Pogroms
1905 C.E.	Zhitomir (Yolhynia)	Mob Attacks
1919 C.E	Bavaria	Expulsion
1915 C.E.	Georgia (U.S.A.)	Leo Frank Lynched
1919 C.E.	Prague	Wide Spread Pogroms
1920 C.E.	Munich & Breslau	Mob Attacks
1922 C.E.	Boston, MA	Lawrence Lowell, President of Harvard, calls for Quota Restrictions on Jewish Admission
1926 C.E.	Uzbekistan	Pogrom
1928 C.E.	Hungary	Widespread Anti-Semitic Riots on University Campuses
1929 C.E.	Lemberg (Poland)	Mob Attacks
1930 C.E.	Berlin	Mob Attack
1933 C.E.	Bucharest	Mob Attacks
1938-45 C.E.	Europe	Holocaust

Jewish persecution source:

P.E. Grosser & E.G. Halperin, Anti-Semitism: Causes and Effects, New York: Philosophical Library, 1978

http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/documents/luther-jews.htm

CONSTANTINE MONSTER (song)

Introduction

I wish to make clear that the purpose of these selections from Martin Luther aims at providing a historical and scholarly source for study of anti-Semitism, religious thought, and how it has influenced the German population and their outlook on Jews.

There will always exist a potential for misuse of any information. However, it has come from observation that hiding such information from view can lead (and has led) to unconscious support of underground movements of anti-Semitism that use these texts for their various nefarious purposes. Bringing this information to light will allow critical analyses by not only scholars, but also by everyday people to help dispel the myths founded by unsupported beliefs and to help fight the tools used by anti-Semitic cults.

A little about Dr. Martin Luther (1483-1546)

Luther, a German theologian and religious reformer, initiated the Protestant Reformation and forever split Christianity from Catholicism. His influence extends beyond religion to politics, economics, education and language. In 1505, after receiving a bachelor's and master's degree, he suddenly abandoned his studies, entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt and became a monk. He became a controversial figure when he published his Ninety-Five Theses, opposing the indulgences (release from the penalties for sin through the payment of money by the Catholic Church). This resulted in his split from the Roman Catholic Church where he established unique Christian interpretations about the Bible and theology. His influence resulted in the major Protestant denomination of Lutheranism where their churches today use Luther's name.

Protestant Christians so admire Martin Luther that he stands as a respected "Patron Saint" to their beliefs and morals. Christians often quote him, theologians write books on him, and many name their children after him (Martin Luther King Jr., for example).

Luther's anti-Jewishness

Unfortunately few popular books on Luther go into detail about Luther's anti-Jewishness, or even mention that he had a hatred for Jews at all. This has resulted in a biased outlook towards Martin Luther and Christianity. This unawareness of Luther's sinister side, while honoring his "righteousness" leads to a ratcheting promotion of Luther which supports a "good" public image while also transporting his Jewish beliefs to those who carry the seeds of anti-Semitism. This will present an unwanted dilemma for many Christians because Luther represents the birth of Protestant Christianity as well as the genesis of the special brand of Jewish hatred that flourished only in Germany.

Although Luther did not invent anti-Jewishness, he promoted it to a level never before seen in Europe. Luther bore the influence of his upbringing and from anti-Jewish theologians such as Lyra, Burgensis, (and John Chrysostom, before them). But Luther's 1543 book, "On the Jews and their lies" took Jewish hatred to a new level when he proposed to set fire to their synagogues and schools, to take away their homes, forbad them to pray or teach, or even to utter God's name. Luther wanted to "be rid of them" and requested that the government and ministers deal with the problem. He requested pastors and preachers to follow his example of issuing warnings against the Jews. He goes so far as to claim that "We are at fault in not slaying them" for avenging the death of Jesus Christ. Hitler's Nazi government in the 1930s and 40s fit Luther's desires to a tee.

So vehemently did Luther speak against the Jews, and the fact that Luther represented an honorable and admired Christian to Protestants, that his written words carried the "memetic" seeds of anti-Jewishness up until the 20th century and into the Third Reich. Luther's Jewish eliminationist rhetoric virtually matches the beliefs held by Hitler and much of the German populace in the 1930s.

Luther unconsciously set the stage for the future of German nationalistic fanaticism. William L. Shirer in his "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," puts it succinctly:

"Through his sermons and his magnificent translations of the Bible, Luther created the modern German language, aroused in the people not only a new Protestant vision of Christianity by a fervent German nationalism and taught them, at least in religion, the supremacy of the individual conscience. But tragically for them, Luther's siding with the princes in the peasant rising, which he had largely inspired, and his passion for political autocracy ensured a mindless and provincial political absolutism which reduced the vast majority of the German people to poverty, to a horrible torpor and a demeaning subservience. Even worse perhaps, it helped to perpetuate and indeed to sharpen the hopeless divisions not only between classes but also between the various dynastic and political groupings of the German people. It doomed for centuries the possibility of the unification of Germany."

In Mein Kampf, Hitler listed Martin Luther as one of the greatest reformers. And similar to Luther in the 1500s, Hitler spoke against the Jews. The Nazi plan to create a German Reich Church laid its bases on the "Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther." The first physical violence against the Jews came on November 9-10 on Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) where the Nazis killed Jews, shattered glass windows, and destroyed hundreds of synagogues, just as Luther had proposed. In Daniel Johah Goldhagen's book, Hitler's Willing Executioners, he writes:

"One leading Protestant churchman, Bishop Martin Sasse published a compendium of Martin Luther's antisemitic vitriol shortly after Kristallnacht's orgy of anti-Jewish violence. In the foreword to the volume, he applauded the burning of the synagogues and the coincidence of the day: 'On November 10, 1938, on Luther's birthday, the synagogues are burning in Germany.' The German people, he urged, ought to heed these words 'of the greatest antisemite of his time, the warner of his people against the Jews.'"

No apologist can claim that Martin Luther bore his anti-Jewishness out of youthful naivete', uneducation, or out of unfounded Christianity. On the contrary, Luther in his youth expressed a great optimism about Jewish conversion to Christianity. But in his later years, Luther began to realize that the Jews would not convert to his wishes. His anti-Jewishness grew slowly over time. His logic came not from science or reason, but rather from Scripture and his Faith. His "On the Jews and Their Lies" shows remarkable study into the Bible and fanatical biblical reasoning. Luther, at age 60 wrote this dangerous "little" book at the prime of his maturity, and in full knowledge in support of his beliefs and Christianity.

Few people today realize that Luther wrote 'On the Jews and Their Lies.' (He also wrote such works like "Against the Sabbatarians.") Freethinkers should become aware of the anti-Semitic influence that Luther has brought on the world. His vehement attack on Jews and his powerful influence on the believers of the Germans has brought a new hypothesis to mind: that the Jewish holocaust, and indeed, the eliminationist form of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany may not have occurred without the influence from Luther's book "On the Jews and Their Lies."

Walter Buch, the head of the Nazi Party court, admitted Luther's influence on Nazi Germany:

"When Luther turned his attention to the Jews, after he completed his translation of the Bible, he left behind 'on the Jews and their Lies' for posterity".

-cited from Richard Steigmann-Gall's The Holy Reich]

"Many people confess their amazement that Hitler preaches ideas which they have always held.... From the Middle Ages we can look to the same example in Martin Luther. What stirred in the soul and spirit of the German people of that time, finally found expression in his person, in his words and deeds."

-"Geist und Kampf" (speech), Bundesarchiv Berlin-Zehlendorf, [cited from Richard Steigmann-Gall's The Holy Reich]

Hans Hinkel, a Nazi who worked in Goebbels' Reich Chamber of Culture said:

"Through his acts and his spiritual attitude he began the fight which we still wage today; with Luther the revolution of German blood and feeling against alien elements of the Volk was begun."

-cited from Richard Steigmann-Gall's The Holy Reich

Erich Koch, the Reich Commissioner for Ukraine and President of the East Prussian Protestant Church Synod wrote:

"Only we can enter into Luther's spirit.... Human cults do not set us free from all sin, but faith alone. With us the church shall become a serving member of the state.... There is a deep sense that our celebration is not attended by superficiality, but rather by thanks to a man who saved German cultural values."

-Konigsberg-Hartungsche Zeitung, 20 Nov. 1933, [cited from Richard Steigmann-Gall's The Holy Reich]

Bernhard Rust served as Minister of Education in Nazi Germany. He wrote:

"Since Martin Luther closed his eyes, no such son of our people has appeared again. It has been decided that we shall be the first to witness his reappearance.... I think the time is past when one may not say the names of Hitler and Luther in the same breath. They belong together; they are of the same old stamp" [Schrot und Korn].

-Volkischer Beobachter, 25 Aug. 1933, [cited from Richard Steigmann-Gall's The Holy Reich]

Hans Schemm became Bavarian Minister of Education and Culture. Throughout the Reich, Germans particularly knew Schemm for his slogan, "Our religion is Christ, our politics Fatherland!" He writes:

"His engagement against the decomposing Jewish spirit is clearly evident not only from his writing against the Jews; his life too was idealistically, philosophically antisemitic. Now we Germans of today have the duty to recognize and acknowledge this."

-"Luther und das Deutschtum," Bundesarchiv Berlin-Zehlendorf (19 Nov. 1933: Berlin), [cited from Richard Steigmann-Gall's The Holy Reich]

"Our confession to God is a confession of a doctrine of totality.... To give ultimate significance to the totalities of race, resistance and personality there is added the supreme totalitarian slogan of our Volk: 'Religion and God.' God is the greatest totality and extends over all else".

M. Skobtsova, a martyr at a Nazi concentration camp

-(Gertrud Kahl-Furthmann (ed.), Hans Schemm spricht: Seine Reden und sein Werk (Bayreuth, 1935), [cited from Richard Steigmann-Gall's The Holy Reich]

Julius Streicher (one of Hitler's top henchmen and publisher of the anti-Semitic Der Sturmer) was asked during the Nuremberg trials if there were any other publications in Germany which treated the Jewish question in an anti-Semitic way., Streicher put it well:

"Dr. Martin Luther would very probably sit in my place in the defendants' dock today, if this book had been taken into consideration by the Prosecution. In the book 'The Jews and Their Lies,' Dr. Martin Luther writes that the Jews are a serpent's brood and one should burn down their synagogues and destroy them..."

Indeed, no historian has yet to put Martin Luther on trial for his incitement of crimes against humanity.

"Today, white-supremacists and Neo-Nazis continue to spread Luther's Jewish hatred and use quotes from this book as "proof" of their convictions. I trust that readers will see the horror and danger of Luther's book and will realize the potential threat that might come from belief in".

The following gives a few quotations from Luther's dirty little book:

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Quotes from Martin Luther's "On the Jews and their lies," 1543

Luther's Introduction:

"I had made up my mind to write no more either about the Jews or against them. But since I learned that these miserable and accursed people do not cease to lure to themselves even us, that is, the Christians, I have published this little book, so that I might be found among those who opposed such poisonous activities of the Jews who warned the Christians to be on their guard against them. I would not have believed that a Christian could be duped by the Jews into taking their exile and wretchedness upon himself. However, the devil is the god of the world, and wherever God's word is absent he has an easy task, not only with the weak but also with the strong. May God help us. Amen."

Martin Luther (On the Jews and Their Lies):
"He did not call them Abraham's children, but a "brood of vipers" [Matt. 3:7]. Oh, that was too insulting for the noble blood and race of Israel, and they declared, "He has a demon' [Matt 11:18]. Our Lord also calls them a "brood of vipers"; furthermore in John 8 [:39,44] he states: "If you were Abraham's children ye would do what Abraham did.... You are of your father the devil. It was intolerable to them to hear that they were not Abraham's but the devil's children, nor can they bear to hear this today."

"Therefore the blind Jews are truly stupid fools..."

"Now just behold these miserable, blind, and senseless people."

"...their blindness and arrogance are as solid as an iron mountain."

"Learn from this, dear Christian, what you are doing if you permit the blind Jews to mislead you. Then the saying will truly apply, "When a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into the pit" [cf. Luke 6:39]. You cannot learn anything from them except how to misunderstand the divine commandments..."

"Therefore be on your guard against the Jews, knowing that wherever they have their synagogues, nothing is found but a den of devils in which sheer self-glory, conceit, lies, blasphemy, and defaming of God and men are practiced most maliciously and veheming his eyes on them."

"Moreover, they are nothing but thieves and robbers who daily eat no morsel and wear no thread of clothing which they have not stolen and pilfered from us by means of their accursed usury. Thus they live from day to day, together with wife and child, by theft and robbery, as arch-thieves and robbers, in the most impenitent security."

"However, they have not acquired a perfect mastery of the art of lying; they lie so clumsily and ineptly that anyone who is just a little observant can easily detect it."

"But for us Christians they stand as a terrifying example of God's wrath."

"If I had to refute all the other articles of the Jewish faith, I should be obliged to write against them as much and for as long a time as they have used for inventing their lies-- that is, longer than two thousand years."

"...Christ and his word can hardly be recognized because of the great vermin of human ordinances. However, let this suffice for the time being on their lies against doctrine or faith."

"Did I not tell you earlier that a Jew is such a noble, precious jewel that God and all the angels dance when he farts?"

"Alas, it cannot be anything but the terrible wrath of God which permits anyone to sink into such abysmal, devilish, hellish, insane baseness, envy, and arrogance. If I were to avenge myself on the devil himself I should be unable to wish him such evil and misfortune as God's wrath inflicts on the Jews, compelling them to lie and to blaspheme so monstrously, in violation of their own conscience. Anyway, they have their reward for constantly giving God the lie."

"No, one should toss out these lazy rogues by the seat of their pants."

"...but then eject them forever from this country. For, as we have heard, God's anger with them is so intense that gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse and worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!"

"Over and above that we let them get rich on our sweat and blood, while we remain poor and they such the marrow from our bones."
"
"In brief, dear princes and lords, those of you who have Jews under your rule-- if my counsel does not please your, find better advice, so that you and we all can be rid of the unbearable, devilish burden of the Jews, lest we become guilty sharers before God in the lies, blasphemy, the defamation, and the curses which the mad Jews indulge in so freely and wantonly against the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, this dear mother, all Christians, all authority, and ourselves. Do not grant them protection, safe-conduct, or communion with us. . . . With this faithful counsel and warning I wish to cleanse and exonerate my conscience."

"Let the government deal with them in this respect, as I have suggested. But whether the government acts or not, let everyone at least be guided by his own conscience and form for himself a definition or image of a Jew."

"However, we must avoid confirming them in their wanton lying, slandering, cursing, and defaming. Nor dare we make ourselves partners in their devilish ranting and raving by shielding and protecting them, by giving them food, drink, and shelter, or by other neighborly acts..."

"Therefore, we Christians, in turn, are obliged not to tolerate their wanton and conscious blasphemy"

"Accordingly, it must and dare not be considered a trifling matter but a most serious one to seek counsel against this and to save our souls from the Jews, that is, from the devil and from eternal death. My advice, as I said earlier, is:

"First, that their synagogues be burned down, and that all who are able toss sulphur and pitch; it would be good if someone could also throw in some hellfire..."

"Second, that all their books-- their prayer books, their Talmudic writings, also the entire Bible-- be taken from them, not leaving them one leaf, and that these be preserved for those who may be converted..."

"Third, that they be forbidden on pain of death to praise God, to give thanks, to pray, and to teach publicly among us and in our country..."

"Fourth, that they be forbidden to utter the name of God within our hearing. For we cannot with a good conscience listen to this or tolerate it..."

"He who hears this name [God] from a Jew must inform the authorities, or else throw sow dung at him when he sees him and chase him away."

"But what will happen even if we do burn down the Jews' synagogues and forbid them publicly to praise God, to pray, to teach, to utter God's name? They will still keep doing it in secret. If we know that they are doing this in secret, it is the same as if they were doing it publicly. For our knowledge of their secret doings and our toleration of them implies that they are not secret after all and thus our conscience is encumbered with it before God."

"If we wish to wash our hands of the Jews' blasphemy and not share in their guilt, we have to part company with them. They must be driven from our country."

"...they remain our daily murderers and bloodthirsty foes in their hearts. Their prayers and curses furnish evidence of that, as do the many stories which relate their torturing of children and all sorts of crimes for which they have often been burned at the stake or banished."

"...that everyone would gladly be rid of them."

"Undoubtedly they do more and viler things than those which we know and discover."

"If I had power over the Jews, as our princes and cities have, I would deal severely with their lying mouth."

"They [rulers] must act like a good physician who, when gangrene has set in proceeds without mercy to cut, saw, and burn flesh, veins, bone, and marrow. Such a procedure must also be followed in this instance. Burn down their synagogues, forbid all that I enumerated earlier, force them to work, and deal harshly with them, as Moses did..."

"If this does not help we must drive them out like mad dogs."

"My essay, I hope, will furnish a Christian (who in any case has no desire to become a Jew) with enough material not only to defend himself against the blind, venomous Jews, but also to become the foe of the Jews' malice, lying, and cursing, and to understand not only that their belief is false but that they are surely possessed by all devils. May Christ, our dear Lord, convert them mercifully and preserve us steadfastly and immovably in the knowledge of him, which is eternal life. Amen."

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Addendum: a note to critics

Because of my pointed aim at revealing the anti-Jewishness of Martin Luther, I have received accusations that I've unfairly painted Luther in a bad light over the alleged "good" he's done in the name of Christianity. I want to briefly make clear my position on this.

Although I can certainly understand, from a perspective of a Protestant, Luther appears to have freed believers from the dependency of an orthodox hierarchy of God-Church-Man, and promoted the vaunted ideals of Christianity, I cannot imagine a more circular argument based entirely on superstitious beliefs. Nor has Luther's Protestantism shown a freeing effect on the lives of its believers when you take account of the paranoid-like protection of its tenets, the theologically based justification of war, cruelty against enemies, and the reliance on faith in place of scientific reasoning.

However, I fully grant that Luther, in his Ninety-Five Theses, may have called for the ending of indulgences and this, I think, could put him in some regard. (Note that although people generally believed that Luther nailed these theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, some scholars have questioned this story, which does not occur in any of his own writings). But on the evidence from his voluminous tomes, I can find little else to admire the works of this man.

Luther not only wrote 'On the Jews and their lies,' but also dubious and intolerant works such as 'Against the Sabbatarians', 'Against the Antinoman,' and 'Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants.' In the latter, Luther called for the stabbing and slaying of peasant rebels which triggered the death of an estimated 100,000 human beings. These rebels were not only Christians but were mostly slaughtered after their surrender to the German princes. Nor did Luther apologize for his treatise even after world criticism. In his response to his critics in "An Open Letter on the Harsh Book," Luther reiterated his venom: "Therefore, as I wrote then so I write now; Let no one have mercy on the obstinate, hardened, blinded peasants who refuse to listen to reason; but let everyone, as he is able, strike, hew, stab, and slay, as though among mad dogs, put to flight, and led astray by these peasants, so that peace and safety may be maintained." In all these harsh treatises, Luther provided an abundance of Biblical passages to justify his attack on his enemies. And, or course (sarcastically speaking), his actions were always through Christian "love" of his enemies, as he audaciously wrote: "The merciless punishment of the wicked is not being carried out just to punish the wicked and make them atone for the evil desires that are in their blood, but to protect the righteous and to maintain peace and safety. And beyond all doubt, these are precious works of mercy, love, and kindness. . ." [Bold characters, mine].

Most Christians staunchly defend their ideas of "true" Christianity (never seemingly to realize that other Christians have their own ideas, or if so, they get labeled as false Christians), but Luther had power and influence, and he vehemently opposed anyone who went against his version of True Christianity. One cannot deny Luther lived as a Christian, and an influential one at that. So to oppose him for practicing his brand of religion cannot serve to justify Christianity anymore than Oskar Schindler can be used to justify "true" Nazism, or neo-communists to justify Communism, or war to justify murder.

But perhaps the most lasting damage of all came from Luther openly advocating the abandonment of using natural reason (Luther considered his use of theological reasoning different from natural reason, i.e., scientific reasoning) . His theological message to live by faith and to abstain from listening to reason has mentally enslaved the lives of millions of Christians to this day. Throughout his literary life he wrote statements such as, "Whoever wishes to be a Christian, let him pluck out the eyes of his reason," "We must give reason a vacation and enter a different school. We must refrain from consulting reason. We must bid reason hold its peace; we must order it to be dead. We must gouge out its eyes and pluck its feathers...," "You must kill the other thoughts and the ways of reason or of the flesh, for God detests them." I can find no other influential writer who has spent as much ink, ad nauseum, against the very investigative tool which has kept the human species alive-- reason.

Therefore, I not only hold against Luther's Jewish hatred and his merciless attacks against his enemies, including Catholics, Protestant peasants, Turks, atheists, and infidels, but also because of his extraordinary intolerance, adherence to faith and superstition, unworkable morality, and his rejection of reason and science. I cannot imagine a man who has spread more dangerous beliefs than Martin Luther.

And no one should ever forget that his justification for these atrocious works came entirely from Christian Protestant beliefs fueled by the Bible. I don't know how Protestant Christians will react when faced with the realization of Luther's mad intolerance, but they will have to deal with the fact that this man stands as the Inventor and Creator of their Christian denomination.

The history of Luther provides just one example of why religion (not just Christianity), and ideology, whether it comes in the form of Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, communism, Nazism, or any other belief system, creates the intolerant play against life and nature.
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Sources:

Goldhagen, Daniel Johah, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, Alfred A. Knoph, NY, 1996

Luther, Martin, On the Jews and Their Lies, translated by Martin H. Bertram, Fortress Press, 1955

Shirer, William L., The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Simon and Schuster, NY, 1960

Steigmann-Gall, Richard "The Holy Reich: Nazi conception of Christianity, 1919-1945," Cambridge University Press, 2003

Trial of The Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, 14 November 1945-- 1 October 1946, Vol. 12, p.318

Other reading:

You might also find the article by Norma E. Cunningham interesting, in that it comes out of her Lutheran upbringing, "What They Never Told Us About Martin Luther": http://www.infidels.org/org/ffrf/fttoday/jan_feb98/cunningham.html

Also:

The influence of Martin Luther on Nazism: http://www.infidels.org/org/ffrf/fttoday/back/hakeem/holocaust4.html